Hat-brim-curlinq machine



v 4 Sheets'-Sheet 2. v J. BIGELOW.

HAT BRIM GURLING MACHINE.

(No Model.)

Patented Dec 25, 1888.

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w I F in, Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 3.

J. BIGELOW. I HAT BRIM GURLING MAGHINE- 1I0 395','117. Patented Dec. 25,1888..

N, PETERS, Phololllhngm hcr, wilhinglon. n. c.

( No Model.) 4 sheetssheet 4.

J. BIGELOW.

HAT BRIM GURLING' MACHINE.

,lsss.

Patted Dec-r25 a plan view.

UNTTEE STATES PATENT EETcE.

JOHN IwIGELOIY, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

HAT BRHVFQUFILING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 395,117, dated December25, 1888.

Application filed February 24, 1887. Serial No. 228,729. (No model.)

Be it known that I, JOHN BIGELOW, a citizen of the United States,residing in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, have invented certainImprovements in lIat -l3rim Curling Machines, of which ihe 'followin isa s]j)ccification.

The object of my .invention is to construct a hat-brim-shaping machinefor forming the roll of the brim by pressing it between a die and ayielding support, and forming the curl substantially in the manner shownin Letters Patent No. 260,298, granted June 27, 1882, and N 295,050,granted March 188 to J. R. Kelsey.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a face view of my improvedhatbrim-shaping machine. Fig. is a side view 5 Figs. 3, 4, and 5,enlarged sectional views of the shaping devices on the line 1 2, Fig. 2,showing the hat in the different stages of the operation. Fig. 6 is asection on the line 3 at, Fig. 3. Fig. 7 is Fig. 8 is a perspective viewof the formers or curls, showing the same detached from each other. Fig.9 is a perspective view of the curls secured together. Fig. 10 is aperspective view of the fluid-bag shown in Fi 3. Fig. 11 is a viewshowing a modi fication of the bag. Fig. 12 is a view showing amodification of the clamps for the curls.

Fig. 13 is a view showing the sectional form of the curl. Figs. l4, l5,and 16 are views showing minor features of the invention in detail, andFig. 17 is a view of one of the side clamps.

Referring to Fig. 1, A is the table supported on suitable legs, a a, andhaving guides 19, between which slide the heads B B, which carry thecurling-flanges c. The heads B l3 are connected to a double-armed lever,C, by rods C in precisely the same manner as in the patent abovereferred to. (See Figs. 3, a, and 5.)

Projecting from the center of the table is flange, (Z, Fig. 3, overwhich fits snugly the dish D, which is of the peculiar form shown inFigs. 3 and 6. The dish maybe supported adjustably as regards height bya set-screw, d, acting either directly or through the medium of aspring, (1 to supplement the natural elasticity of the yielding diereferred to hereinafter, and make the effect of the closing of theclamps over the top of the curls.

similar to that of ironing on the felt of the hat-brim.

As shown in Figs. 23 and 6, the dish D contains a bag, E, of thepeculiar form shown in air pump or reservoir containing fluid underpressure, the pipe being provided with a suitable stop-cock, e, forregulating the supply of fluid.

G is a sheet, of cloth or rubber, which I prefer to place above the bagE and above a metallic disk, I], Fig. 15, or its equivalent, which willgage the position of the front and back. of the curl, as describedhereinafter. This sheet G affords a smooth bearing for the under side ofthe hat-brim, as will be readily understood.

I is the hat-block secured to the dish D by a suitable set-screw orclamp, i, that will hold it in place against upward pressure and yetpermit it to be readily detached when a hat of a different size has tobe acted upon.

Pins 2" insure the placing of the block in a correctcentral position, asin the aforesaid patents.

J J are the curls or formers, over which the hat-brim is molded andcurled, as shown in Fig. 5. These curls may be either loose, asillustrated in the drawings, or may be attached to suitable arms, asshown in the Kelsey patents above referred to.

In the drawings I have shown detached curls and pivoted presser-arins KK, having adjustable plates 7;, which are provided with adjustablepressing-pins 71; for bearing upon the curls. The arms K are pivoted tobrackets Kf, secured to the table A, and the rock shaft or shafts L, towhich the arms K are secured, are provided at their outer ends with armsZ, to which a treadle is connected by rods m m at each side of themaelline, acountel-weight, m, being attached to the treadle M by ropes mwhich pass over suitable pulleys 011 the opposite side frames of themachine. This counter-weight tends to keep the arms K in the elevatedposition shown in Fig. 2, where they will be out of the way of theoperator. I

Other devices than those shown in the drawings may, however, be used forimparting pressure to the eurlsJ without departing from my invention. WVhen the curls are in position as shown in Fi 4 the r are clam )edtogether by any suitable devices; but I prefer to use the devices shown.in Figs. 7 and 8, the curls having lugs j j, with projecting pins j, anda clamp, N, which is forked and slotted at n, being passed over thepinsj and turned down, as shown in Fig. 8, so as ,to secure the twocurls firmly together.

The front and back sliding curls, c, are secured to the curlingflanges cby bolts which pass through inclined slots in the sliding flanges 0,whereby the closing of the side curling-flanges, 0, will also, owing tothe inclined slots and the bolts effect the closing of the front andback slides; and in order to assist in centering the curls J', I preferto form 011 or secure to these front and back slides, (1, lugs 02., sothat when the curls J' are locked together by the clamps N the handles Nof the latter fit snugly between lugs n on the front and back flanges,c. The block J serves to properly center the curls as the latter aredropped over the hat, the centering of the curls being necessary, as thearms K exercise no such influence over the curls, but serve simply todepress the same.

The curls J .I may be secured as shown in Fig. 12, one end of each curlbeing swiveled at p to pieces 1) p, hinged together at their outer ends,clamp-arms N being pivoted to the opposite ends of the curls and heldtogether by a sleeve, N", as shown. The curls are hollow in order tomake them as light as possible; and I prefer to cast the lower portionof each curl with a groove or recess, and then solder or braze to thetop of the casting a thin metal cover, .I, as shown in Fig. i123, thusmaking the curl very light and convenient for the operator to handle.

The side curlingsflanges, c, are secured together by the front and backflanges, c, which, as before described, have slots for the reception: ofscrew-bolts on said side flanges, and I attach the side flanges to theheads l3 l; by bolts if, which pass through openings in the heads andthrough open-bottomed slots 1'' in the side flange, (see Fig. 6,) sothat the entire set of curling-flanges can be taken from the heads B Bwithout taking the set apart.

The operation of the machine is as follows: \Vhen a certain sized hat isto be curled and set, I first clamp together the proper curls, .l .l,and then place them on the rubber sheet G in the correct position inrespect to the bag E. The curling-flanges are then moved to the positionshown in Fig. 5, and water, air, or other fluid is admitted to the bag Euntil the latter is filled, as shown in Fig. 5, and conforms to theshape of the under side of the curls J, the supply of fluid being thencut off, the flanges retracted, and the curls released. A hat is thenplaced over the block I, and the curls J placed in position on the brim,as shown in Fig. 4, and subjected to pressure. As all escape of fluidfrom the bag E is cut off, said bag must necessarily conform to theshape of the under surfaces of the curls and present a solid backing forthe brim of the hat. The curling-flanges c c are then forced partly overthe curls by the operation of the lever (1, so as to form the curl ofthe brim, and the depressing-levers K K are then raised and the inwardmovement of the curling-flanges completed, as shown in Fig. 5, so as toiron or flatten the curl.

It will be noticed that the under side of the brim, which constitutesthe roll of the hat, is formed by the pressure of the fluid-bag, andthat the curl of the brim is obtained by the sliding flanges abovereferred to, so that a smoothly-iiiiished roll and a very sharp and evencurl of the brim are obtained at little expense, the fluid-bag providinga flexible under die, which is capable of use for every sized hatneeded, thus dispensing with the usual separate under dies or dishes,which are very considerable items of expense.

The only expensive pieces in my improved machine are the curls, andeconomy in the manufacture of these may be attained by making onepattern for a certain style, and

obtaining differentsizes of castings by successive shrinkages. Thus thecasting from the pattern will, owing to shrinkage, be less than saidpattern; a second casting, obtained by usin the first casting as apattern, will be less than said first casting; a third casting, madefrom the second, will be still less, and so on. i

The construction of the curls shown in Figs.

8, f), and 12 is much simpler than that shown in Kelseys patents. In theKelsey machine the curls are secured to an inner ring, and accuratefitting is required as well as care in attaching the ring to theswinging arms shown in that patent.

The upper arc of the curls which I use is a fixed one, being less by thethickness of the felt of the hat than the arc of the side clamps, c. Theinner opening or oval accords in size and shape with the size and shapeof the hat to be acted upon, and the outer oval edge and the shape ofthe under side can be readily obtained from a model hat.

\Vhile in some instances an inner ring for the curls is of greatconvenience in taking the curls from a hat-brim after it has been shapedand set, I find but little difficulty in removing the sections shown inFigs. 7 and 8.

In place of the bag E, the dish D may be used as the receptacle forfluid by providing it witha flexible cover, S, as shown in Fig. 11, saidcover being secured to the flanges of the dish in any suitable manneras,for instance, by riveting, cementing, or clamping.

hen the cover is attached directly to the dish, as shown in Fig. 11,1prefer to form the said cover as shown in Fi ltfthat is to say, thick atthe portion a: and gradually diminishing in thickness to the portion 05,so that it will conform more readily to the shape of the curls J. Infact the cloth or rubber sheet G may be likewise shaped when the bag Eis used, or the upper side of the bag itself may be made in this waywhen the use of a cloth or rubber sheet, G, is dispensed with.

In some cases I prefer to use an oval disk, H, placed beneath the rubberor cloth sheet G and above the bag E, forming a set plate, this diskhaving at front and rear projections conforming to the dip of the curlsJ, so that it is adapted to support any sized hat. These projectionsserve to relieve the front and back portions of the bag from part of thepressure, and although their use is preferable it is not essential, as Ihave curled hats perfectly without it.

111 Fig. 16 I have shown the dish D made in two parts, the dish properbeing secured to the base-plate A of the machine and the center portion,1), adapted to be raised or lowered by the screw d independently of theouter portion of the dish I). By this means the machine can be readilyadapted for forming any desired depth of curl.

It should be understood that the terms lower and upper are used in thisspeeiiication as applying to those parts which act, respectively, uponthe under and upper sides of the brim of the hat, and not as indicatingthe necessary relative location of the parts in the machine, for it willbe evident that my invention is applicable to a machine in which thelocation. of the parts is the reverse of that showik-th'at is to say, inwhich the fluid-filled die is above and the curls beneath, or in whichthe parts are otherwise disposed in a manner different from that shownin my drawings.

I do not in this application claim, broadly, the flexible f1ui fl-filleddie shown and described or the combination of such die wit-h the curlsand pressing-flanges, as these mat ters form' the subject of a separateapplica tion filed by me on. the 2d day of July, 1887, Serial N 9-3,250; nor do I claim in this application the mode of forming the lowerhollow flexible die, as said mode forms the subject of a separateapplication for a patent filed by me on the 21st day of July, 1988,Serial No. 280,618.

I claim as my invm1tion 1. The combination, in a hat-brim-curlingmachine, of upper curls, a lower die consisting of a flexiblefluid-tilled casing, and a flexible sheet covering said lower (lie, allsubstantially as specified.

2. The combination, in a l1at-brim-cui.-ling machine, of the uppercurls, the lower flexible and fluid-filled die, and a set-plate having abearing upon the under side of the hat-brim at the front and rear of thehat, all substantially as specified.

The combination of the upper curls made in sections withsecuring-clamps, all. substantially as specified.

4. The combination, in a hat-brim-curling machine, of side and endpressing-flanges securedtogether so as to constitute one structure,operating-heads for said flanges, and securing-bolts adapted toopen-ended slots, so as to permit the removal of the flange structure aunit, all substantially as specified.

5. The combination, in a hat-brim-curling machine, of upper curls with apresser free from connection with the curls but bearing upon the latterto depress the same, all substantially as specified 6. The combination,in a hat-brim-eurling machine, of upper curls with a presser free fromconnection with the curls and having adjustable pins for bearing on saidcurls, all substantially as speci fied.

7. The cmnbination, in a hat-brim-curli11g machine, of the upper curlswith a presser having adjustable plates carrying pins for hearing on thecurls, all substantially as specified.

8. The combination, in a hat-brim-curling machine, of the hat-block, thelower die,-and upper curls conforming to and centered by said hat-blockand separate from the pressure-imparting devices, all substantially asspecified.

9. The combination, in a llat-l)rim-curling machine, of the endpressing-flanges having guides thereon with upper curls made insections, and clamping levers for said curls having arms adapted to theguides on the flanges, all substantially as specified.

10. The combination, in a hat-brim curling machine, of upper curlsconsisting of sections clamped together, a presser acting thereon butdisconnected therefrom, side pressingflanges, and a lower die, allsubstantially as specified.

ll. The withinalescribed dish for a hatbrim-inirling machine, said dishcomprising the fixed outer portion and adjustable center portion, allsubstantially as specified.

12. The combination of the detached upper curls of a hat-brim-curlil1gmachine and lower die and hat-bloek with guides to assist in centeringthe said detached curls, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOHN BIGELOXV.

"Witnesses:

WILLIAM D. CONNER, HARRY SMITH.

